Father
by Noir105
Summary: A new security system is in development to assist the Maverick Hunters on the field, and Alia is asked to assist in the development of one of its components, but she has to work alongside someone she didn't expect to, nor wish to see again. Rated M for possible future content.
1. Chapter 1

First fic. I don't own Megaman/Rockman X, or any of its characters. That's Capcom's business, even if they don't seem to care much about it lately unless it involves a crossover.

"Wait until it opens its mouth! It's only vulnerable while it's attacking!" Alia shouted over the transmission. "Got it!" X shouted as he dodged out of the way of the large dragon mechaniloid's energy spheres. It stood at least 10 meters high on a pair of fairly stubby legs, and sported a green color scheme on its round body, and pair of very large claws on both arms. X had battled one this model's predecessor units at the beginning of the Repliforce incident, and aside from some upgrades to its armor's aesthetics and durability in some select places, it was essentially the same as before. The mechaniloid had gone haywire, and escaped the military installation where it was housed before the installation's personnel could effectively retaliate, and it had started to raise havoc at a public park several miles away. The Maverick Hunters were called in to help control the situation before the mechaniloid could cause too much damage. Most of the civilians had managed to evacuate the area once the Hunters arrived and gained its attention.

The mechaniloid opened its maw again to fire another volley, but this time, X fired three quick shots from his buster into its mouth before it could fire. The shots dazed the metal dragon for a few seconds, just long enough for Zero to charge in close. The dragon screeched, and tried to swipe the red-armored Hunter away with one of its its claws, but Zero simply jumped upward out of its path and thrust his saber right into the mechaniloid's still roaring maw in mid air, vaporizing its primary weapon's core before he deactivated his his sword's blade and fell. Zero dashed backward the second he touched the ground to avoid the impending explosion, coming to a stop beside X. The dragon roared one last screech before it's armor started to bend and bulge up across its body from many small internal explosions, before the outer armor finally gave way, and was sent flying everywhere as shrapnel in one final, powerful explosion as X and Zero shielded their faces with their forearms.

"Great work X, Zero. Come back to base." Alia said. "Roger!" X replied. Before they could teleport back, though, another transmission came through. "X?" another, more masculine voice said. "Commander?" X replied. "I would like to speak with you about something when you return." Signas said. "Roger that, sir!" X said before the transmission ended. "What was that about?" Zero asked. "I don't know, but I know I'll find out once we get back." "True." Zero responded, as they both teleported back to the Hunter base.

Back at Hunter Base

"I would like to speak with you as well, Alia." Signas said from behind the blonde navigator. "Sir?" Alia responded. "This could involve the both of you, and we would be saving some time if I spoke to the two of you together." Signas said "Yes, of course sir." she responded, and got up from her seat to leave to greet the two Hunters with her commanding officer.

X and Zero arrived at base's teleporter station, and were greeted by Signas and Alia a few moments after they stepped out. "X, Alia will be joining us. I hope you don't mind." Signas said "No, not at all, sir." X responded. "Good. We'll speak in my office." Signas said, and turned to lead the way. X and Alia followed, side by side. "Do you now what this is about?" X whispered to his colleague. "I'm just as much in the dark as you are. I think it could have something to do with the recent rumors going around about a new equipment ID locks. I don't know why he would need just the two of us though, if that was the case." Alia replied. "Well, no use speculating if we're gonna find out in a few minutes." X said. Alia nodded in agreement as they continued walking for two minutes until they reached Signas's office.

"Please, take a seat." Signas said to the two as they entered his office. As soon as everyone was seated, Signas began: "I overheard what you were saying on the way here, and yes, the rumors about the new equipment lock systems are true, and this discussion is related. I would like to propose a few ideas, and I would appreciate your cooperation and feedback. You are permitted to speak freely." Alia spoke first. "Sir, what exactly are these locks? What makes them different from the locks we already have?" "The old locks were designed to be used with heavy construction equipment that we modified to be used with our equipment. We always input the names and employee codes into our databases, and the equipment would lock out anyone if they were listed as a Maverick, retired, or are listed as MIA or KIA. This method is rather archaic, and could easily be taken advantage of by an experienced hacker, and it does not work with internalized weapons like busters." All three looked at X's arms, taking note of the weapons within that could be used in a moment's notice if he wished it.

Signas continued: "It was rather disgraceful at how poor the security was on the equipment. It's amazing that we've managed to last as long as we have with them in place. Based on recent studies on Reploid thought processes, new technological advancements, and what we managed to salvage from the remains of defeated Mavericks within the last five years, we have found an anomaly in many of the Mavericks' processors, that none of the other "clean" reploids involved in the study possessed. We believe this anomaly could be a new type of trigger that can allow reploids to become Mavericks. Our new locks are specially made with the very latest technology, and they are specifically designed to automatically detect the anomaly, as well as many other other previously known factors, and lock out the equipment immediately, while simultaneously alerting our databases with the new information. There are a number of bugs to work out, but we believe that these new locks are already very promising, and we are scheduled to roll out the new locks within the next two months."

"Let's go back to what you were saying about the equipment that Zero and I use." X said. "We aren't exactly like other Reploids. Are we even sure that the locks would work for us?" "I do not think that we would need to worry about you, X, but that is a valid question." Signas replied. "We would like you to help us by testing the reliability and versatility of some of the locks yourself with different sets of equipment, including some of your own. The next topic of our discussion will depend on whether or not they will work as anticipated." "The next topic?" X asked. "Yes. As we are all aware, you have a growing collection of armor and equipment left to you by your creator, the good Doctor Thomas Light." X nodded in confirmation. "The armors in your possession greatly enhance your abilities, and, like yourself, have an exceptional security system built into them that even we are unable to fully analyze. Your ability to utilize them has been instrumental in the completion of many operations. We have always wanted to manufacture our own streamlined versions of your armors for our fellow Hunters to improve their odds of survivability in the field. However, though we do believe we have the budget to allow for it, we have purposely avoided pursuing that option due to the unreliable security of our equipment locks. We have lost many of our Hunters in the field over the years due to our equipment's obsolete security, and the ever increasing prevalence and effectiveness of hacking as a stealth combat tactic. The Hunters' equipment is often taken, repurposed, and then either used or sold by the ones that defeated them. We have tried to upgrade our equipment's security many times over the years to prevent this from happening, but no matter how many times we have upgraded the locks' software, it was always a matter of time before the enemy knew how to trump it. We have tried replacing the locks with other types, but none of the planned replacements would ever function with the same versatility and effectiveness as our current system."

"With certain new technological developments, however, we feel that we are finally able to pursue more options. If the new locks are a success, we would like to study your armors further, and if at all possible, pursue the possibility of mass producing them. Before we do that though, as the good Doctor Light is no longer among us, has no living heirs, and to the best of our knowledge, has never officially entrusted his research to another party, the legal rights to his research could well be used without anyone's consent, however, you are his last known creation, and nobody else has as close of an understanding of him and his wishes than you, X. Knowing that, I cannot, in good conscience, permit the project to commence without at least letting you know, and I would like to ask you for your permission to go ahead with development." "I… May have to think about it. I can a see how it would be helpful, but I can also think of several large cons to the idea. Like you said, the last thing we would want is for the equipment to fall into the wrong hands, but I can think of a few of our Hunters off the top of my head that I wouldn't really classify as "the right hands". If they got access to something like that, they'd probably think they'd be invincible. No matter which side has the equipment, that type of thinking is never a good thing. Also, despite how well they may appear now, the possibility exists that these new locks might not work out as planned once they're implemented. I would like to save my decision on the matter until after the tests are done, and I have a better understanding of how they work " "That is acceptable. Honestly, I was expecting that kind of answer, and I agree with you on those points, but it was a request worth asking." Signas said, leaning back in his chair.

"And, what about me? Why was it that you asked me to be here as well?" Alia asked. "Your presence here ties into our discussion about the production of streamlined versions of X's armors. As you have experience in completing and modifying a number of them, I would also like to request that you also be involved in designing and manufacturing processes of the production versions. Of course, that will depend on X's decision after the tests are concluded, and the possibility exists that it could cut into your duties as a spotter, but the position would be temporary, and we would have someone fill in for your spotter duties while you are busy. I see no harm in asking for your cooperation now." Alia thought for a few moments before speaking up. "Our field teams are made up of less than 400 Reploids, with between 20 and 30 assigned to each of the 18 units, and each unit includes specific types of mass-produced reploids in their ranks that specialize in their units areas of expertise. I would have to help redesign most of X's 14 currently available armors to conform to at least 24 different body types to account for all of the mass-produced models. Then there's another 20 of our active Hunters with unique body types that could also benefit, and any armor for them would have to be made to order." Alia briefly paused for a moment and looked to X before continuing. "And for the sake of testing, I think it would be wise to have X test all of the prototypes himself to gauge their performance and reliability in comparison to his originals." "If the tests go well, I could agree to that." X said with a nod. Alia nodded, and continued: "To do all of that, and look over the whole manufacturing process, it would easily take up to a few months' time, three to four at the least, and that's if everything goes with only minor hitches. I would need a lot of help. Who else would be involved?" "Aside from the two of you, we have also asked Douglas, Professor Gaudile of Giga City, and Professor Jacques Erwin from the Robotics Institute of Paris to contribute to the development of the locks as well, and they have all agreed to return if necessary to continue work on them, and anything associated with them, including special equipment like the proposed mass-produced armors." Alia froze at the last name.

"What's wrong, Alia? You look shaken up." X said, noticing her behaviour. "Oh, sorry, it's just… I didn't expect to hear that last name." "Why, do you think there's something wrong with him?" X asked. "A-actually..." "Professor Erwin is Alia's creator. He managed the same laboratory where Alia worked alongside Gate." Signas stated. "Y-yes, but you see, when I left his laboratory, we... Didn't exactly part on good terms. I'm sure you know some of the reasons why, but he still has me kinda nervous. I mean, if it's supposed to work the way you say it does, he would definitely be an invaluable member of the team, but I just don't know how well **I** would work with him." "Well, he explained some of that to us, and you may have a chance to sort that out." Signas said. "He and Professor Gaudile are due to arrive sometime tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Next Day**

Signas, Alia, Douglas, and X stood outside the Hunter base, looking upon the base's large private runway, awaiting the first of the arrivals. Alia was nervous beyond imagination. She hadn't seen nor spoken with Professor Erwin in the 15 years since she tried to sever her ties with him. She could tell that he would be stuck to her like glue the second he got there. Professor Erwin specialized in the observation of reploid thought processes, and how they compared with human psychology. Though even non-humanoid reploids were considered to be the closest things to artificial humans imaginable due to their ability to think on their own, make their own decisions, and feel emotions, there were still obvious differences that separated them, both physically and psychologically. Erwin's published studies and observations were well received by the public, and he was nominated for several awards. Most reploids rarely had the nerve to run away from home like Alia had, especially if their creators had the kind of prestigious background as Professor Erwin. Then again, most reploids also didn't share Alia's circumstances. Luckily, Erwin's flight was delayed due to inclimate weather, so Alia had a few extra hours to compose herself before facing him again.

"Sir, you said Professor Gaudile is supposed to arrive first, right?" X asked. "Correct." Signas said. "The Professor was already planning to come to Abel City to give a lecture at the Thomas R. Light Institute of Robotics. He has agreed to stay for at least three weeks before he must return to Giga City, which he assured us was more than long enough to help us squash some of the more persistent bugs in the new lock system, and he was more than happy to agree to return if necessary. He was partially responsible for discovering the new anomaly that the new lock systems are meant to detect, and is the one who first forwarded us the finding." "I'm pretty anxious to see what he's been up to. I haven't really heard that much from Giga City since the Rebellion incident." X said. "I feel the same." Signas said. "I understand that until the Rebellion, the Professor was something of a recluse, and that a chance to work alongside him like this is not to be wasted. By the way, he requested that he be allowed to bring some guests with him, so do not be surprised if you see a few extra faces when he arrives." "Really? How many? I can imagine who one of them is, but I just can't imagine him as someone who travels with a large group." "He said the number of passengers was four, including himself. All of them friends of yours." "That's great! I really hope I can find a chance to catch up with everybody." X said with a little excitement present in his voice. "I really hope you can find a chance to give us some time with them!" Douglas chuckled. "I've heard so many great things about Professor Gaudile's work. The chance to work alongside him is something most people could only dream of!" "Yeah, I'm also a little curious to see what he's like, too. " Alia said

After about five minutes of conversing amongst themselves, the plane carrying the much respected Professor appeared over the horizon, eventually landing and coming to a complete stop. The Hunters quickly moved out to the field to greet the passengers. As the stairs lowered, they could already see one of the passengers ready to exit the craft. A short, light blue and red, duck-billed platypus reploid with a pair of magnifying goggles above his eyes, and an extra pair of long, clawed manipulator arms folded against his back started down the stairs. "Professor Gaudile?" Signas asked for confirmation as he stepped foreward. "Correct. I am Gaudile. And am I correct in assuming that you are Commander Signas?" "Correct. It is a pleasure to meet you, Professor." Signas said as he offered his right hand in greeting the much shorter reploid, who met his hand with one of the longer manipulators attached to his back. Behind Signas, X smiled upon seeing is old friend again. Alia and Douglas, not so much. "Hey, X? Is that really the Professor?" Douglas whispered to the blue armored Hunter. Yeah, that's him. Why, did you expect him to look different or something?" "Well, kinda. I mean you did include a physical description of him in your report and all, but even knowing that, just seeing him like this is kind of underwhelming." "Yeah, I think you're saying that to the wrong guy." X said, remembering all of the various Reploids and Mavericks that he had met and fought against over the years. "Ignoring that, I will say that he is an eccentric, but he is a brilliant scientist. I feel completely comfortable with our results if he's involved."

Another passenger started off the plane, a female reploid in beige and orange armor, sporting the number "77" emblazoned on her breastplate, and short pink hair with a white fringe in her bangs. Behind her, another female reploid with much slimmer, ninja-esque, pink armor and long green hair came into view, and behind her, another female reploid with uniquely styled long blonde hair that stopped at the middle of her back, and then spread outward in a way that made it resemble small "wings", and wearing a bulky white and blue dress resembling a nurse's uniform. The nurse reploid smiled and waved at X "Hi there X! Long time no see!" "Cinnamon! Manners!" the platypus said quickly. "Oh, whoops, sorry! Pleased to meet you, My name is Cinnamon." she said as she extended her hand to the Hunter leader. "General Signas. A pleasure." "Please excuse her. Despite her appearance, she is still fairly young, and she hasn't made many formal meetings such as this." Gaudile said. "Not a problem. I have read about all of you from X and the others' reports from the Rebellion incident, so it was not unexpected." "Right, so you know who the rest of us are, huh? So does that mean we can cut this short? I kinda want to look around the place." The green haired female said in a bored tone. "Marino! Manners!" Cinnamon shouted, mimicking her father's words from a moment ago. "I apologize for Marino's behavior. My name is Nana, pleased to make your acquaintance." the pink haired reploid said. "As I previously stated, it was not at all unexpected. It is a pleasure to meet you all the same. I was informed that Professor Erwin's flight will be three hours behind schedule, so if you would all like to catch up with X, relax, or wait here, you are all free to do so until before his scheduled arrival."

"Actually, I could use a bite to eat. Where can we get some food around here?" Marino asked. "The mess hall is this way, please follow me." Signas said as he turned around and began walking towards the base, with all in attendance following suit. "Hey, by the way, where's Massimo? He didn't want to come with you?" X asked Nana. "Actually, after the Rebellion, he kinda just disappeared. We hear stories every now and then of someone matching his description acting as a vigilante all over Giga City, but none of us have seen him since the incident." "That's a shame. I bet everyone would have liked to meet him too." X replied. "It also seems kinda weird that he's not here, but Marino is. I thought she was still a wanted thief?" "Nah, I'm going legit." the pink kunoichi said. "I tried to go, but the kid got a little too attached to me and begged me not to do that stuff anymore. 'Course, I made the mistake of hanging around too long that it actually worked. I'm pretty much signed on to be the Prof's full time bodyguard now. It's not as fun as the old days, but at least I don't have people trying to chase me down much anymore, so that's almost a plus." "Hey, you're Alia, right? I'm Cinnamon. X told us all about you in Giga City. It's so nice to finally put a face to the name." The bubbly nurse said to the pink armored spotter. "X?" Alia asked, with a small mixture of curiosity and embarrassment. X never really seemed the type to gossip about his coworkers, and assuming it was true, she had no idea what kind of stories he could have told them. "I did?" X replied, also caught off guard at how the topic was brought up.

Nana noticed the sudden awkwardness Cinnamon inadvertently brought on, and clarified: "Sorry, she didn't mean it like that. Actually, it was more like advice for me that others were also usually around to hear. The truth is, with everything that was going on at the time, I had to adjust my role as a navigator to accommodate for it after X and the others rescued me. Before the Rebellion, I was never involved in any sort of combat situation, and even though I knew what I was doing for the most part, X noticed I needed just a couple extra pointers to know what else to look out for. He gave me several examples from where certain techniques used by spotters in the past proved useful for him in the field. Because I guess you were involved in many of his examples, he just happened to drop your name a couple times." "Yeah, I honestly thought a couple of X's stories would be interesting at first, but they all ended up being pretty disappointing, for multiple reasons. He could have gone a bit more in depth with where exactly all these places with hidden rooms were, and what he found that justified the trouble of blowing holes in them." "Marino!" Cinnamon tried to reprimand her friend. "Sorry." Marino apologized. "I'll admit that one was kinda out of left field, but even you have to admit, that is not great story structure. Despite the more graphic details, I actually kinda liked Axl's stories better He didn't leave out anything!" Well, that answered one of Alia questions, but now she was worried about what they could have heard from Axl, assuming that wasn't just a joke. "Speaking of which, where are he and Zero? They're still here right?" X replied: "Yeah, Zero's still here. We should run into him at some point." X then developed a more sullen demeanor as he began to talk about his other comrade. "Axl, though… He-" "Here it is." Signas announced as the group approached a large sliding metal door, which automatically slid upward to let the group inside.

The room was quite large and lively, but not nearly as packed as it could be. The walls were constructed of thick, yet somewhat ornate metal plates, much like the style of many other strictures of the time, and the floor was lined with over 20 long metal tables that could sit up to 10 people each. The wall to the left of the group had a large open window into the kitchen, where several mechaniloids could easily be seen preparing different types of food. Close to 60 reploids were currently scattered around the room, relaxing and conversing amongst themselves. Signas started to speak again."I feel I must warn you ahead of time that we are not a restaurant, so the taste may not be to your liking. However, there are several meal options, and our food still does the job all the same. You can make your choices at the window." Nana nodded and spoke. "Thank you, we'll try to make do. I don't think anyone here's particularly picky." Gaudile spoke up. "I think my meal will have to wait. I would like to discuss a few things with General Signas before Professor Erwin arrives. Please, continue without me." "All right. See you later, Professor." Cinnamon said as she waved her father off.

"Exactly who is this Erwin guy, anyway?" Marino asked. Nana thought for a second, then started to speak: "If memory serves me correctly, he's supposed to an expert in the study of reploid psychology. I think I've read a few publications of his findings on the differences between reploid and human thought processes. It was actually pretty interesting, some of the stuff he found. The Hunters might have brought him on to help figure out why reploids go Maverick." Cinnamon chimed in: "I think the Professor said that he created Alia. If you want, Alia do you think you can you tell us more about him?" "H-how does he know that?" Alia asked, surprised. "He and the Professor are old friends. They talk to each other from time to time." Cinnamon answered. "When your name came up, the Professor knew who you were right away! So, do you have any stories?" "I, uh… don't… really feel comfortable talking about him." Alia said. She was still nervous about meeting Erwin again, and she wasn't really up to talking about him, at least not talking about her past with him to almost complete strangers. Granted, the least she could do is fill them in on the very basics that even the public knew, but Alia didn't want to think of even that. Plus, it looked like Nana had that side of things pretty much covered. "But you should know more about him than any of us, so why not?" Cinnamon asked. "That's... actually exactly why I don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry, I know I may be coming across as a little rude and vague, but it's... kinda personal for me..." "I think those questions are gonna be best saved for when he actually gets here. I don't think that trying to pry answers out of someone who doesn't want to talk is a good idea, though I am interested to see what all this is about as well." X said. Marino spoke up: "Y'know, this is interesting and all, but I didn't expect all this talk. Can we continue this after we get some food? I want to ask some questions of my own while we're on the subject, but I need something in my stomach first." Alia knew she was going to need this meal as well. It was going to be a long day.

The group got their food and found an unoccupied table before continuing the conversation. "So anyway, what was on your mind, Marino?" Nana asked. "Just a couple things, like this, for example." Marino said, lightly waving a piece of meat that she had just speared on her fork. "We're pretty much machines, right? Technically, we shouldn't need to eat, and yet, we do. Why do we get hungry? Have any of this guy's notes said anything about that?" "Wow… I honestly never expected to hear anything like that from you, Marino! I didn't actually think you cared about stuff like this." Nana said, genuinely surprised by her friend's seemingly genuine interest. She actually thought Marino was going to make some sort of crude joke. "I wouldn't say I'm really interested in the psychology stuff as a whole, but I do wonder why it is we do some of the things we do. Most of what's on my mind is sort of in that ballpark." Marino finally took a bite of her meat, and grimaced. "Wow, that guy wasn't kidding! This stuff tastes like crap."

Nana had to chuckle at her friend before speaking: "I haven't read anything in his notes about food, specifically, but there were a few other things that caught my interest though, like-." "We get hungry for a couple of reasons." Alia interrupted. Nana and Marino let out a simultaneous "Huh?" at the interruption. "One is stress. You're right, we don't "need" to eat to live, but our brains are designed to function in similar ways to humans' in many ways. One of the problems with that is that we are capable of feeling certain ailments usually felt by humans and other entirely biological lifeforms, such as stress and fatigue. Granted, it takes a lot more to wear us down than humans, but we are designed to perform tasks that are considered too difficult or monotonous for humans to accomplish alone, so we still feel the effects all the same. As we spend energy, it takes a certain toll on our bodies and minds. Though we actually get our nourishment from solar energy, our brains still send signals to certain parts of our bodies, and we still feel pangs of hunger from the stress of the day, whether the stress be physical or mental. The simple feeling of having something inside our stomachs alleviates the feelings of fatigue, and gives us the desire to move on. We are all perfectly capable of going throughout our entire existance without eating a bite of food, but it would leave us feeling exhausted for awhile. Though it would be understandable for many to think otherwise, the exhaustion would only be a mental ailment rather than a physical one, and it would pass in time. Those are the only psychological elements involved, however they are not a flaw, per se. Like you also said, we are technically machines, which means that we were intentionally designed by someone else to have the ability to eat. Most of us are designed this way for one primary reason: Social settings. As we are meant to work alongside humans, the illusion that we are required to take breaks and can eat like, and alongside humans creates a sort of common ground, and it encourages social interaction, allowing relationships to form.

Everyone was speechless. Alia hadn't said much to the three visitors since they arrived aside from the fact that she didn't want to talk about Erwin, and yet she had just dumped a truckload of other information on them. She immediately regretted how she put the attention on herself, especially over something so unnecessary, but even though she had no like for the conversation, she just didn't want the subject to change the way it was going to. Though the topic derailment was admittedly selfish and immature, the last thing she wanted to hear right now was anything related to the man, especially praise. Marino eventually cleared her throat and spoke up: "Ahem, that was… a bit more than I was expecting, but you'd think we would have already known about something like that." Douglas chimed in: "It's obviously not a secret at all, but it's more something people don't really talk about due to its potential impact on work relations. Reploids still aren't completely accepted by humans. If we seem too far superior to humans, that would create more fear among them that we'd be replacing them in all facets of life. If we seem too human-like though, there'll be a lot of questions about whether or not we're necessary. There needs to be a balance to show that we are necessary, but that we are more than tools, and can empathize with, and work alongside humans. You kinda have to look for some of this information yourself, though you usually don't have to look far, so that's kind of on you." "Right." Alia said, as she took a bite of her potatoes. Marino sighed. "Well, that answers one question…" "You have more?" Douglas asked. "Yeah, but first, there's something else bugging me that's unrelated to all that." "Which is?" Alia asked. "Earlier, I asked you guys about how Zero and Axl were doing. When Axl came up, you guys got all serious for a second. What's that about?" "Yeah, did something happen?" Cinnamon asked worriedly.

Like before, X, Alia, and Douglas's moods soured. "It's actually something you're not gonna want to hear." X said, looking down at his tray. "X sighed before he started: "Do you remember hearing anything about the Jakob Tower incident ten months ago?" "Who doesn't? People are still talking about it. Those new generation reploids actually sound pretty scary, even to me. If they have the ability to go Maverick at the drop of a hat, it's a good thing that they were discontinued." Marino replied. "Axl and Redips were prototypes for the new generation." X stated bluntly. Everyone's eyes widened at that. "You must've heard about their other main ability. I don't think there's any way that you can hear of that, and not think of the similarities." "We've heard, but we just didn't want to hear any confirmation that he was one of them." Nana said, fearful of the implications. "Since the next gens were discontinued, a lot of them were hunted down and... Just please tell us that nothing like that's happened to him." X continued: "The discontinued final production models had been refined, and straight from the assembly line, they had been given the DNA of many reploids that they could mimic indefinitely. Included in that list was a certain entry. I'm sure you've all heard at least a story or two of the former Hunter turned Maverick named Sigma, am I right?" The group nodded and affirmed, listening intently to X's words. "The inclusion of those reploids' DNA also carried elements of their mindsets to allow the new generation reploids to better utilize their abilities, Sigma's included. Unfortunately, due to Sigma's strong anti-human views, this was from where all of the problems stemmed. Since Axl was an earlier prototype, though, his copying ability was limited, and he could only copy a single chosen target's DNA and abilities for a limited time, so he was incapable of carrying that flaw, so that is not the issue. We managed to resolve the incident at Jakob Tower, but in the process, Axl sustained an injury, and he has been in an unresponsive state since."

"Where is he? Can we see him?" Cinnamon asked. "He was located in the infirmary for the first two weeks after the incident, but at some point, some concerns were raised that Axl may have been specifically targeted in that last attack in an attempt to infect him with some of Sigma's DNA, or something else that could have future consequences for us. After that, he was relocated to another part of the base, and placed under quarantine. No one's allowed to even see him without security clearance, and even then, you can't really get close to him." "Is that really possible? I mean, his copying abilities were only temporary, right?" Marino asked. "We haven't heard whether they've found anything like that or not." Alia replied. "The reason everyone thought that was due to a strange piece of shrapnel that was lodged in Axl's helmet. Most reploids are designed to have certain workarounds so that if they're rendered unconscious through physical trauma, they usually only stay that way for a very short time. An hour max, in most cases. Axl, however, has been in this state since the incident, and we have been told that, aside from the lens in the helmet, he hasn't sustained any significant damage."

"When Axl was brought back, everyone who saw the shrapnel described it as giving off a weird glow. When it was analyzed though, we were told it didn't carry any unusual energy readings, no known viruses, no real reason why it acted the way it did. No one knows what it is, or if it even has any real purpose, but everyone believes it's important because it's the only new element. Like X said though, it was deduced during the incident that Axl couldn't become a Maverick at will like the production models, and it's entirely possible that he was only attacked in Lumine's death roes because he was the one nearest to him, but still, no one wants to take any chances. If you want, you could try to get permission from the Commander next time we see him, but don't be too surprised if he turns you down. You are still only considered guests here, after all." "Not to change the subject, but just to make sure we're thinking of the same guy, don't you mean "General"?" Marino asked. "Not if he's in charge." Douglas replied. ""Commander" is more a title for the leader of a group or installation than an actual rank. If they allow it, either one's fine." "Gotcha." Marino replied. "Actually, should you have even told us that? That sounds like something that should be classified." Nana said. Douglas answered: "Well, you're not wrong, but-"

Just then, alarms went off all around the room, and an automated voice echoed over the sound system:  
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! ALL ON-DUTY MAVERICK HUNTERS ASSEMBLE IMMEDIATELY!"  
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! ALL ON-DUTY MAVERICK HUNTERS ASSEMBLE IMMEDIATELY!"

X, Alia, and Douglas all immediately shot up and started to make a rush for the room's exit. "Sorry about this, guys!" X shouted as he left. "What's going on?" Cinnamon asked fearfully. "You need to ask?" Marino shouted over the alarm. "It's a Maverick attack!"


End file.
